Do you think gas prices were raised as a result of global warming?

Question

Do you think that gas prices were raised just in time for summer to slow down the co2 levels in the country? BECAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING. Is a higher gas price a way we can contain this phenomena?

Answer 1

Of course they were. Gas has been going up .50 a gallon every summer for years now as we switch over to a lower ozone summer blend of gas. Come winter, the blend switches, and the price goes down

Answer 2

Global warming is a fact. The hurricane seasons might be more active and more dangerous each year, but blaming the high price of gas on it is an understatement. Oil companies lost a lot of money when their offshore platforms were damaged with hurricanes like Katrina, so they're charging more to us customers for these losses. At the same time, they know we all need fuel to survive - to go to work, to make a living - so they're making a lot of profits. Think about it - if you sell something everyone needs, and you had to raise the price of your products temporarily to make up for loses for whatever reason, and after that you realize people are still paying that high price for such products, even though you already covered these losses, wouldn't you be happy too? In the world of business your goal is to make money, not to care what other people think. You're running a business, not a welfare center. It is bad, really really bad, I know, it's called GREED. Even if the hurricane season hadn't damaged anything, they were still going to raise the prices. Man, I should've bought stock in the oil market - LOL!

Answer 3

This is just simply the free market at work.

Lots of people are buying cars in China and India. There is much new industrial development around the world which uses oil.

A lot more buyers of oil and only a little new supply every year means the price goes up.

The only way to "contain this phenomena" is to conserve energy (like higher gas mileage standards for cars) and develop alternative sources of energy; nuclear, solar, wind, biofuels.

There is no other way.

Trevor - at least Europeans use more efficient cars.

3DM - Oil is a world market. The price we pay for oil from Canada is dependent on what happens in the Middle East. We didn't go to Iraq to steal oil, but reducing instability in the world price was a goal.

Answer 4

Gas prices will rise each summer prior to Memorial day for the following reasons:

1) Refineries do maintenance during the spring because it is too hot in the summer in the South.
2) Refineries must switch to "summer blends" mandated by the EPA (it costs slightly more and creates small shutdowns and inventory problems).
3) No refineries have been built in this country for many years so we have to attract gasoline refined in foreign countries, so prices have to make it profitable for them to ship refined gas rather than crude oil.

This causes a supply problem each spring so prices rise to encourage importation and discourage demand (though demand drops very little).

Prices will remain higher in the summer, than have a spike in the fall (for refinery maintenance) and then will be lower while we are using "winter blends."

This will continue to get worse as no refiner has plans to build another refinery. Then will expand production capability minorly at the existing ones but with all the talk of reducing oil use, would you invest BILLIONS in gasoline that would take many many years to see a profit?

The REAL question is, if oil companies were truly greedy, wouldn't they just raise prices to $3.50 or $4.00 or maybe higher, because everyone I talk to says they'd still drive their SUV or Crew Cab even if prices were $4.00. I think you'd see a reduction in demand of maybe 5 percent (I'm being generous) at $4.00/gal. But the oil companies would increase their profits by 1200%. So why wouldn't they?

Answer 5

Gas prices were and will be raised due to that same old human trait that has caued unimaginal suffering and death for the masses throughout the ages i.e. GREED! Oil companies are "enjoying" record profits while we are paying record prices. There is some truth to the lack of refining capability but that should not cause the price increases we are seeing. New refineries need to be built to keep up with increases in vehicle populations but again, greed is the primary reason for the prices we are paying, not global warming (the fable).

Answer 6

No, gas prices didn't go up because of global warming. They went up because of higher demand (from China and India for oil, and due to seasonal demand increases in the U.S.)

Yes, higher gas prices should reduce consumption and the emission of CO2. However, that won't be enough to "contain" the problem.

Answer 7

Not yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it was announced at some time in the future that gas prices are being increased in order to reduce demand and curb global warming. If your government does this you can tell them it doesn't work. Gas prices in Europe are 2 and 3 times that of the US and despite year on year increases there's been no reduction in miles driven - in fact, the number of vehicles on the roads and the number of miles driven goes up every year.

Answer 8

NO WAY! The rise of gas prices has NOTHING TO DO with global warming. By the way, global warming is NOT caused by humans. It's a natural phenomena, and caused by changes in our Sun. Get this: Gas prices are deliberately manipulated by the Shrub gang and their oil buddies. They have total control over the price of gasoline, and when they want to make more profits, they simply reduce the supply and make people pay more.

Answer 9

The price of oil is determined by supply and demand, just like every thing else, as well as the taxes that get added on. There is talk of taxing "big oil" companies in order fund research for alternative energy sources, but they might as well just tax us, the consumers, because it will ultimately be passed on to us. It just sells better to the public when they say they are taxing "big oil".

Answer 10

Nope, and around most of the country, prices are down over the last month. Part of the price is supply and demand. The other part is OPEC's ability to control global oil prices.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html
And, contrary to popular perception, we don't get most of our oil from the Middle East - we get it from our neighbors to the south and North: Canada is #1, and Mexico is #2.
Middle East oil (Saudi, Iraqi, and Kuwaiti) is only a little more than the oil we get from Canada. If you compare the oil we get from the Americas (including ourselves) this EASILY dwarfs the amount from MidEast.

Those folks who think we fight wars in the MidEast to get oil really don't have a clue...